Honey Boo Boo Might Be Worth More to Her Mom When She's Fat

To say 2012 was a good year for Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson would be an understatement as big as her family's stockpile of paper products. From their humble home that sits inches from a train track to a spot with Anderson Cooper tonight to ring in the New Year on CNN, she and her family have come a long way for sure. Redneckognize!, indeed.

For the most part, I've cheered them and their often cringe-worthy ways on as they've made their way into the hearts of America. Recent reports about just how far mama June Shannon is willing to go to guarantee they keep climbing, however, are upsetting to say the least.

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According to Star magazine, June wants to keep Alana chubby because she thinks that's part of her shtick, and will keep people watching the show. She's apparently lost some weight recently and mama June doesn't like it one bit. A source told the magazine:

Alana lost some weight recently, and June totally freaked out — she’s terrified the family will lose their show if Alana gets skinny. She knows the main reason Alana is a celebrity is because she is overweight, and June won’t jeopardize that.

IF that's true, then it's outrageous, and I'd say it comes pretty close to child abuse if not being a flat out prime example of it. The source went on to say, “June has banned all vegetables and fruit from the house and stocked up on even more pizza, hot dogs, and snacks.”

Outrageous ... but I'm also not willing to slay June for doing this based on a tabloid report.

Do I think the family needs to work on their eating habits? Holy cheese balls, yes. Their sketti and junk food binges are not good for anyone, and Alana definitely needs some help getting her weight in check, or she's destined for a lifetime of health problems. And that's sad.

But June not knowing how or not being able to follow through on getting her eating and exercise habits in check is much different than trying to make her gain weight. I frankly can't imagine any parent doing that, and based on what I've seen of June's love and support for her daughter, I can't imagine she'd really do it either, no matter how much more people may love Alana chubby. I hope not anyway.

Do you think June would really try to get Alana to gain weight just for ratings?